And I'm Off!

One full day of bus rides later and my Watson has begun. Hard to believe that as I stood there at the bus station in Northampton with my parents this would be the last time my feet touched American soil in 12 whole months. What am I doing!? The whole prospect of this trip still hasn't dawned on me, nor do I completely understand the point yet. But such is life. All I know is that I am headed in uncharted territory for me: adventure without restraint. With unsure footing, I am getting more and more excited as time goes on!

As a compulsive over packer, I shocked both myself and the people helping me pack when I fill up one backpack and am set! I was almost convinced to take Claire along instead of my clothes, but ultimately decided that would be irresponsible (she told me I had to post this picture. So here is my test run of uploading pictures.) I will be bringing this large backpack and my trapeze bag with me this year, and hopefully that will be it. I want to be as mobile and as flexible as possible throughout the next twelve months. What this means is that I definitely won't be looking that nice for 12 months! I will be wearing the same thing everyday pretty much. My uniform? Black dance pants and a black patagonia tank top. Very unassuming. But however light I planned to pack on this first leg of the trip, I decided to bring a GIANT suitcase with all of my food needs for the 6 weeks in Montreal (aside for produce that is) so I could save money. 

I get to Montreal 6 days ago and upon arrival I begin to notice that my bags are extremely heavy. Trying to make my way through the metro system and find my way to where I am staying seems an impossible task to do alone. I am drenched in sweat and somehow still in a good mood two hours later when I stumble into Bobby Lee's house, the captain of the ultimate team I will be playing on for the next two weeks. This is probably because I got approximately 1 hour of sleep the night before. I was running around in a frenzy making sure everything was set for my departure until the wee hours of the morning, and when I finally did collapse into bed my mind was still racing with guesses as to what this year would bring. 

While I did carefully plan my first two weeks in Montreal, the rest is just about getting my footing and figuring out what makes sense. For the first two weeks of my Watson Fellowship I will be observing at a circus school to build a base of what circus education looks like, spending time at Cirque Du Soleil and Cirque Du Monde, taking flying trapeze, and playing in two Frisbee tournaments to keep my sanity. I know where I am living for the first 5 days and that is all. I will be moving to a Youth Hostel after and will then begin praying for the housing angel to introduce me to someone who has an extra room for free! Who knew it would be so expensive being homeless? Youth Hostels cost about 30 bucks a night. Sort of annoying when all I need is a place to sleep.

Which brings me to the real point of this post:
I just want to thank all of you- friends, family, professors, mentors- who have been there for me in the past 22, almost 23 years. Thank you! Stepping onto the bus bound for Montreal and for a year full of uncertainty and excitement, all I could think about was the people who have helped me get to this point. Whether teaching me to throw a Frisbee or do a pirouette, editing my papers, mentoring me through the Watson process, or just being a friend, I am forever indebted to all of you. Heading away I realize that what I haven't had recently is a lot of time- time for reflection, time for quiet moments, time to just relax, time to fully tell all of you how much you mean to me. This Watson gives me the gift of time. Since I graduated high school my life has been a whirlwind- Israel, CC, creative projects that seem to take over my life, Frisbee, theses, graduation, the Watson process, and so many more things in between.

Anyone who has spent any time around me knows that I love to do things. I am always doing a million activities and have always had a crazy schedule. This next step for me is to discover how to live a more flexible and spontaneous lifestyle. My goal for this year is to discover who I am and what Social Circus is without the confines of a rigid schedule. Old habits die hard, so we'll see how I do! But thank you all very much for supporting me, believing in me, and loving me. I support, believe and love you all.

Feel free to follow this blog as much or as little as you like in the coming year. I also would LOVE to hear from you all throughout the year. Email me anytime! I will be in and out of email contact, but I promise to respond. Best of luck. So long until August 2012.

My slogan from my trip to Israel still stands: Off I go. The Windows of My Soul I Throw Open To The Sun!